Hillwood High
by SnoopyJ7
Summary: What happens when Arnold and the gang start high school? Love, friendship, adventure and misadventure . . But mostly teenage high school life and adventure! Rated T-M for possibilities later (SEX, DEBAUCHERY, ETC.)... just being careful. Mostly just language now. NOTE: Hey Arnold and all related names and such belong to Craig Bartlett! I had no part in it. Forward to Adventure!
1. Chapter 1

Hillwood High

Chapter 1

"The Return"

It was a normal morning in Hillwood. The little town was waking up as its citizens headed off to their jobs, or in the case of Gerald Johanssen, to see his girlfriend.

Gerald was a tall, African-American teenager, with a flat-top hair style that made him look even taller. He wore a middle school letterman's jacket with the number thirty three on the back, black jeans, and basketball shoes. As always he had his headphones in his ears as he was walking, listening to a groovy James Brown CD he had been given for his birthday.

He was on his way to visit his girlfriend of three years, Phoebe Heyerdahl. They had a romantic day planned before their first day of high school and Gerald was ready to go.

About a block from Phoebe's house, Gerald felt his cell phone ringing and pulled out his headphones. He looked at the front of the phone and saw that it was the boarding house calling him.

"I wonder what Grandpa Phil needs now, hope he's not stuck on the toilet again," Gerald chuckled.

He flipped the phone open and said, "Hey Grandpa Phil, what's shakin'?"

The voice that Gerald heard on the other end however, did not belong to Phil Shortman.

"Gerald? Boy is it great to hear your voice again."

Gerald stopped dead in his tracks at the bottom of Phoebe's stoop.

"My God… Arnold? Is it really you?"

"Hi Gerald how've you been?"

Gerald dropped his phone without answering and ran off in the other direction, he could apologize to Phoebe later; there was something much more important he had to do.

"Gerald? Hey Gerald, you still there? Hello?"

In another part of the neighborhood, a girl was standing under a tree. She was tall and skinny with a grey stocking cap on her head and a pink hooded sweatshirt. She had two large pigtails jutting out on either side of her head and one very prominent eyebrow.

Helga G. Pataki stood slumped against the tree, close to tears. She was usually the toughest girl in school but whenever she was alone her true colors came out, and she was a very sensitive girl, but even more so since the love of her life had left almost four years ago.

In her hands she held a small locket; the inscription on the outside read _My Love._ Helga opened the locket and stared longingly at the picture.

"Arnold, my love."

Had she still been an elementary school student she would have burst into a heartfelt soliloquy about how much she yearned for Arnold to come back to her, but no more. She contented herself to just sighing and sitting down, the locket clutched tightly to her chest. She watched as Gerald went running by.

"I miss you…"

Gerald ran up the street, he could see the red brick building coming up fast. He skidded to a halt and ran up the stoop, and then right as he was about to knock on the door, it opened revealing, to Gerald's delight, his best friend in the whole world, Arnold Shortman.

Arnold was about a foot shorter than Gerald, his football shaped head still very prominent. He had his blue baseball cap turned sideways on his head and his hair fell down behind him. He wore a short sleeved, plaid over shirt and a sea green undershirt.

Arnold's smile was as wide as ever as he opened his arms and hugged his best friend. Gerald hugged him right back, even picking him up off the ground.

"Arnold, man what are you doing here? I thought you were with your parents on some kind of freaky around the world thing?"

"I was Gerald but, I decided that I needed to come home, they understand. I realized that this is where I belong."

Gerald smiled and held out his hand, one thumb sticking up.

"We still best friends?"

Arnold performed the same gesture, and they wiggled their thumbs together.

"Always."

Phoebe walked outside onto her stoop. A short half Japanese girl, she had raven black hair pulled up on her head. She had a pair of green rimmed glasses that made her eyes seem much bigger than they actually were. She was wearing a white t-shirt and a white and blue plaid skirt. Her little black shoed feet were tapping frantically away on the cement.

She was growing impatient waiting for Gerald in her room so she had come out to look for him. At the bottom of the stairs she saw a cell phone.

"Oh my, that appears to be Gerald's cellular device."

She walked down and picked it up, looking at the screen, she saw that the last call had been from the Sunset Arms Boarding House.

"I wonder what called him away. I suppose I'll have to go and see."

She pocketed the phone and began walking to the boarding house. As she was walking past the community lot, she saw Helga sitting underneath a tree and walked over to her.

"Helga are you feeling okay?"

Helga looked up at her best friend.

"Oh, hey Pheebs. Yeah I guess I'm okay, I've just been... ya know thinking about stuff"

"Like Arnold?"

Helga stood up quickly.

"Criminy! Can't a girl be sad once in her life! Sheesh Phoebe, give me a break!"

"Giving! But Helga really, if you need to talk to someone, I'm always here for you, and so is Gerald."

Helga settled down and sighed.

"I know Phoebe; it just gets hard sometimes to know that I'll probably never see him again. Oh and if you're looking for tall-hair-boy, he ran past about a half hour ago.

Phoebe watched her friend walk toward her house, head hung low and shoulders sagging.

"I must find a way to help her out of this slump." Phoebe said to herself as she walked down the street towards the boarding house.

When she got to Sunset Arms she walked up the steps and rang the doorbell.

She heard muffled steps and the door was opened by Ernie Potts, a long time boarder and also a friend of Phoebe's.

"Hello Mr. Potts, is Gerald here?"

"Hey Phoebe, oh yeah sure he's here, up in the attic." Ernie grinned and gave Phoebe a wink.

"I think you should go up and see him"

Phoebe walked up the stairs into the second floor hallway and saw the staircase coming out of the ceiling that led to the attic room where Arnold had slept. She knew Gerald often went there to reminisce about his and Arnold's childhood adventures but she didn't know why he would be there now.

Phoebe walked up the steps of the staircase and when she got to the door at the top, she could hear jazz music coming from inside. Thinking that only Gerald would be inside she opened the door and walked right in.

"Phoebe! What are you doing here?" Gerald asked when he saw her standing in the doorway.

"I've been waiting for you for eons Gerald. We had a day long date all planned out, calculated to the last millisecond and I find you here listening to Arnold's Jazz records?"

Gerald slapped his forehead, "Aww man, I forgot to tell you, sorry babe but I just got caught up."

"Caught up? Caught up with what? Did Mr. Shortman need something?" Phoebe asked.

"No but he did," Gerald said with a wink, pointing behind Phoebe and smiling.

Phoebe turned around and saw to her amazement, Arnold there in the flesh. He smiled at her and gave a wink of his own.

"Hi Phoebe, hows it been?"

Without a word Phoebe ran to Arnold and gave him a big hug. Being slightly shorter than Arnold she stood on her tip toes and gave him a small kiss on the cheek

"It is wonderful to see you Arnold!"

Arnold blushed and looked at Gerald sheepishly. Gerald attempted to act outraged that his girlfriend had kissed his best friend but the whole situation was so funny he doubled up with laughter.

"You should see your face dude, hahaha, priceless."

The three friends laughed together and all united in a big hug. After a few seconds, Phoebe pulled away and started for the stairs.

"Yo Phoebe? Where are you going girl?" Gerald asked.

"I must get Helga!" Phoebe shouted back.

"Helga?" Gerald said.

"Helga." Arnold said with a note of excitement in his voice.

Phoebe ran up the steps and burst into the Pataki house.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Pataki," she cried as she ran past the living room.

"Oh hello Penelope…" Miriam said.

"The girls name is Phoebe Miriam," said Big Bob.

"Oh right… Hello Phoebe."

When she arrived at Helga's door she burst into the room and found Helga lying in bed.

"Helga you simply must come with me! Gerald and I have something to show you!"

Helga looked up, "I appreciate your enthusiasm Pheebs but I really don't need to see a different way that Gerald can pick you up"

"No no no! It's something much better! Please Helga come with me!"

"Alright, alright, criminy," Helga said as she got out of bed and put her pants on, but this had better be good Phoebe."

Phoebe pulled Helga down the stairs, barely giving her enough time to say, "I'm going out!"

"Ok Olga, be back before dark," said Big Bob.

"That's Helga dear," said Miriam.

"Whatever…"

Phoebe ran down the street so fast that Helga could barely keep up with her.

"Sheesh Phoebe what is so important."

"You'll find out," Phoebe said as she pulled Helga into the boarding house.

"Phoebe, I don't know if you knew this, but I really don't like being around stuff that reminds me of Arnold," Helga said impatiently.

Phoebe didn't answer her and led her to the open door into the attic.

Helga looked around and saw Gerald lounging on what had been Arnold's bed.

"Alright, what's so important bucko?" she asked Gerald sharply.

Gerald just smiled and pointed to the other side of the room by the computer.

"Hi Helga," a voice said from behind her.

Helga froze, she knew that voice, it was one she had always admired, one of calm collected thought, and true emotion. She turned around slowly and saw exactly what she knew she would. Arnold smiling at her with his arms open ready for an embrace.

"Arnold…" she said quietly, and then ran into his awaiting arms. She hugged him harder than she had ever hugged someone before, and then she looked him right in the face and kissed him passionately on the lips.

"Don't you ever, ever leave again football head," she said laying her head on his shoulder.

Arnold smiled, "I don't plan to." He winked at Gerald and motioned to him and Phoebe. Both of them joined into the group hug. Arnold Phillip Shortman was home, and he was never going to leave again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry this one was a little rushed, but I really wanted to get all the kinda basic character info out of the way and I felt like Gerald would be a good enough bro to tell Arnold everything BEFORE they got to school. So it's short but that's okay, I've got some ideas to run with.**

**FYI: This will be a continuing story, if I ever decide to end it I will make sure you know but otherwise I plan to update whenever I have time**

Chapter 2

"Welcome Back"

"Alright now dude, I'll give you the shake down on all of our classmates so you know what to expect" Gerald said as he and Arnold walked to school.

"Okay, but come on Gerald how much can people have changed? I haven't been gone that long."

"You'd be surprised Arnold, you'd be surprised," said Gerald with a smile.

"Okay so I'll start with the guys because they are the least changed I guess. Harold is a lineman on the football team and that takes up most of his time and aggression so he's really calmed down a bit. He still pulls pranks on everyone but not so much to hurt them.

Stinky and I are the only two freshman that are already being looked at for the varsity Basketball team so you can imagine how tall he is still. Also he's into all that country music and records stuff in his garage I'll take you there sometime.

Sid is probably the most changed, he doesn't take shit from anyone anymore and nothing scares him. He's still as nice as he was but he beat up the Wolf Pack singlehandedly last year, that's Wolfgang's gang of sophomores.

Eugene is still a walking jinx, but he's still Mr. Optimistic. He's in the glee club, drama club, the Mathletes, chess club, and probably a few more.

Brainy kind of disappeared last year, but I've seen him over the summer. I think he sticks with the AV club most of the time.

Curly is in Juvie right now, something about freeing all the animals at the zoo for like the 5th time. He's not dangerous just psychotic as always.

Lorenzo left to some private school, he still likes to come to our functions and hang out though.

Iggy, Park, Peapod Kid, Joey and Robert all do their own thing now, they got a jazz group and man can they play; you'll have to hear them sometime."

"Wow," said Arnold, "I guess a lot can happen when you leave for a few years."

Gerald chuckled, "Yeah and that's just the guys, let's see for the girls we'll start with Rhonda. She's still Miss Rich and Popular but never misses a chance to hang out with all of us. She kind of put the 'I'm better than you' thing away so she's a lot more fun to be around.

She's still best friends with Nadine and the other popular girls don't know why. Nadine is joining the biology club and always brings her latest specimen to class. At the end of last year it was a giant moth, poor Eugene nearly fainted.

Sheena's pretty much a hippie. All flowers, peace signs, and save the Earth kind of stuff. She's in all the same clubs as Eugene.

Lila is still Lila, religious and daddy's little girl. She changed her clothes a lot more than her personality. She's a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl now.

You already know about Phoebe and Helga so I guess that's about it."

"What about Thorvald" asked Arnold?

"He got his GED, last I heard he was going into the Marines."

The two walked in silence for a ways, as Arnold thought about his classmates.

"So who are the couples" Arnold said with a grin?

Gerald laughed out loud, "Well everyone you would expect to be man: Phoebe & I, Harold & Rhonda, Nadine & Sid, Stinky & Lila, and Eugene & Sheena."

"You forgot one Gerald," said Arnold with a smile. When Gerald looked confused Arnold said, "Helga & I"

The two friends laughed together all the way to school.

In front of Arnold was Hillwood High school, the place where students from all over the city came to finish their primary education. It was much larger than P.S. 118, and Arnold could tell it was going to be a whole different life.

Arnold and Gerald stopped at the office to get their locker assignments and were lucky enough to be right next to each other. As they put their things away, Arnold looked at his class schedule.

"So do all freshmen have the same classes?" he asked.

"Mostly, the only option we had was 6th period, P.E. or Home Ec. Most of the guys chose P.E. except Eugene; I think he may get hurt worse in an enclosed classroom though."

They walked down the crowded halls to their homeroom class.

"Wait a minute, room 118 is our homeroom? Kind of an interesting coincidence," Arnold said.

Gerald nodded, "Yep and just wait till you see who our homeroom teacher is," he winked.

They entered the room and were met with a roar of, "Surprise! Welcome back Arnold!"

Everyone was there, patting Arnold on the back, hugging him, shaking his hand. Harold, Stinky, Sid, all of his friends, and someone very special.

"Hello Arnold! And welcome back from what I'm sure was a very special journey in San Lorenzo." It was Mr. Simmons, their teacher from P.S. 118.

"Mr. Simmons here is a high school English teacher now," Gerald said with a smile, "and he volunteered to be our homeroom teacher through high-school."

Arnold smiled and found himself a desk next to Helga, Phoebe, and Gerald. This was turning out to be a very interesting year, and Arnold could only help it would get even better.


	3. Chapter 3

**So here is chapter tres… took me a while to figure out what direction I wanted to go next. Now that introduction-ish things are over it is time to start an adventure! A high school adventure of course. So here it is… hope you enjoy, follow and review please… it makes me happy ^_^ **

**NOTE: Every fourth chapter will be a "Misadventures" chapter chronicling the life of a different character, since next chapter will be the 4****th**** once why don't you message me or tell me in your review which character should be first. Harold? Rhonda? Stinky? Sid? Arnold's Grandma O.o? Someone else? Up to you!**

Chapter 3

Ghosts

It was the Saturday after Arnolds return to Hillwood. His first week of High School had gone well but he was definitely ready for the weekend. Returning to the life of a "normal" kid was going to be a challenge. After working with his parents for so long in San Lorenzo, he had gotten used to being away from the hustle and bustle of towns and cities.

He was sitting in his room sorting through some new CD's he had been given as a welcome home present from Gerald. Casey Abrams by Casey Abrams, the Best of Steely Dan, Al Stewart, and Home by Ben Williams were the best. He had listened to them all twice through. They all had exactly what he loved, that smooth jazzy feel full of saxophones and bass riffs.

Arnold tapped out the percussion on his windowsill, looking outside at the street below. He saw Mr. Green the butcher putting fresh meat out on display, Harvey the mailman making his rounds, and even frail old Mrs. Vitello tending her flowers.

"Hey Short Man," said Arnold's Grampa as he came into the room.

"Oh, hey Grampa, what's up?"

Phil Shortman was in his late 80's and was still as fit as he had ever been. The man loved his grandson and was probably, with the exception of Helga, the happiest person to see him come home.

"How come you're not out there with all of your little friend's?"

"Just taking in the neighborhood Grampa," Arnold said, "I missed sitting up here letting the music play out what I saw people doing."

"Well I don't know about all that boy, but I do know that I got a $50 bill here for ya that's just itching to be spent," Phil said with a wink.

"Wow thanks Grampa!"

"No problem, now get out there and have some fun ya crazy kid."

Arnold flew down the stairs and out the front door of the boarding house. Phil watched his grandson from above in the attic room, a tear in his eye of happiness. Arnold was home.

Arnold was running around a street corner when he ran straight into something and they both went tumbling over each other.

"Jesus fuckin' criminy , watch where your goin you clumsy little…" Helga trailed off as she realized she was cussing out her boyfriend.

"Hi Helga… love you too" Arnold said, smiling as he rubbed the growing lump on his forehead.

Helga laughed, "You really should watch where you're goin Football Head." She helped him up and they shared a hug and a kiss. "So why exactly were you running at Mach 4?"

"To find you, Gerald and Phoebe," Arnold replied. "My Grampa gave me $50 and I thought we could all go do something together."

Helga thought this was a good idea, and the two of them walked down the road to the Johansson residence. When they got there they saw a sign on the door at the top of the stoop that read, GONE FOR WEEKEND.

Arnold pulled out his cell phone and dialed Gerald's number, surely he must've stayed behind at a relative's house.

"Hello," came Gerald's voice from the other end.

"Hey Gerald, where are you?" Arnold asked.

"Man I'm in Philadelphia for the weekend. Jamie-O is getting an award for something he did at college so my parents decided I had to come, so I brought Phoebe with me."

Arnold and Gerald said goodbye, and he and Helga began walking down towards the pier. Helga slipped her hand into Arnolds and felt the warmth that flowed between them where there skin met. It filled Helga with more emotions than she even knew she had.

"So Arnold… what are we gonna do? With no best friends to go on a double date with we're pretty much on our own" Helga said. She was silently glad that she now had her boyfriend all to herself for the first time since his return.

"Here let me stop and use the restroom really quick," said Arnold.

As soon as he was out of sight Helga gave out a loud high pitched sigh, "Oh Arnold my love, the reason for my existence at last at last I have you away from all those others, the staring eyes, the pointing fingers. What will we do my love, a quiet romantic movie, a dinner at the most fancy restaurant in town, a trip to the moon? Oh I know you'll be able to think of something.."

Behind her, Helga could hear a shallow, raspy breathing. Flinging her fist around, it collided right in the middle of Brainy's forehead, knocking him out cold.

Arnold walked out of the bathroom and looked at his girlfriend. "So I think I know what we should do" he said.

What could it be Helga thought to herself? The movie, the dinner, the moon?

"Let's go for a walk in the park, I'll buy you lunch and a present," he said with a smile.

Helga's heart dropped momentarily as her lavish dreams fell down around herm but perked back up because she was still going to be with her man.

"Okay," she said simply with a smile. They held hands all the way there.

Darkness. That was what Arnold saw when he opened his eyes. He looked around sleepily and noticed he was in the park still. He saw Helga's still form next to him, sleeping deeply. Arnold looked at his cell phone, it was 11:30.

"Oh man," he thought aloud, "we must've fallen asleep sitting in the sun."

He nudged Helga awake.

"Huh? What's going on," she muttered tiredly as Arnold helped her up.

"We fell asleep; come on my house is closest."

They both walked in the dark towards the Sunset Arms Boarding House. Arnold pulled the fire escape ladder down and they both climbed until they were at Arnold's lofty attic bedroom.

"Do you want to maybe call your parents?" Arnold asked.

"Nah," said Helga, "Big Bob is probably asleep in his chair and Miriam is more than likely passed out in the bedroom. It's not like this would be the first time I haven't come home at night."

Arnold gave Helga a pair of shorts to change into and left to tell his grandparents that he was home. Helga stripped down to her underwear and put on the shorts. She really didn't know what was going on, but she did know that she was in her boyfriend's bedroom, and nearly naked.

"Shut up estrogen," she said to the room at large as she grabbed a blanket from under Arnold's bed and laid down on the fold out couch. When Arnold came back in, Helga was already sleeping soundly. He smiled at the beauty of this girl he had waited five years to be with. Arnold changed into his boxer shorts and looked at Helga again, sleeping on that uncomfortable old couch. He walked over and picked her up. The blanket fell away and Arnold was met with the sight of his girlfriend's lacey pink bra. He put her down in his bed and covered her with his quilt. Arnold went back over to the couch and grabbed the blanket and pillow off the floor. He lay there for a few minutes thinking about the day and what he had just seen. The image of Helga in his arms with nothing but underwear covering her top half was enticing to him, and his mind started to play games with him. He shook his head and rolled over onto his side.

"Shut up testosterone" he said quietly to himself as he closed his eyes and fell asleep, unaware of the smile that had spread over Helga's face.

**HA! I saw that look on your face. OMG is Kyle really going to have these two high school freshmen that have been dating barely a week have sex only three chapters in? Of course not! That will have to wait quite a while. Too much stuff to explore, but I think this is setting up a good precedent for their relationship don't you? Remember to please rate and review. And don't forget to tell me who's "Misadventures" chapter you want to see next update… if no one gives their input then it's going to be Curly ;P**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ahh yes… Curly Gammelthorpe…. The delightfully mad member of our little group. Truthfully I have always wanted to write a story from his point of view, so after completing this chapter in the third person I decided to change it all to first person :D. So all "Misadventures" will be in first person all thanks to our friend Curly. Give him a round of applause everybody ^_^**

Chapter 4

The Misadventures of Thaddeus "Curly" Gammelthorpe, Esq.

Four weeks, three days, ten hours, eleven minutes and fifty-nine seconds… that's how long I have been in this pseudo-prison. They all think I've lost count, but I'll show them before it's all over oh yes indeed, I WILL show them.

"Gammelthorpe, food and mail delivery," I heard that fat slob of a guard say as the tray slipped under the flap at the bottom of my cell door. I grabbed the plate containing mashed potatoes and bread and slammed it against the wall, searching for the key. The key, the key, great escapes always have a key hidden in the food.

"No key, no matter," I say. Maybe a key isn't all that important, what else do we have here. Mail! Yes of course the mail how could I have been so silly, that is where the key to my escape lies. Letter from mother, notice of release in two weeks, letter from the class… nothing useful at all.

"Dammit!" I swear loudly in my little cell, the sound echoing of the barren walls and plush, rather comfortable, bed. "What could I be missing," I wonder. There is a key, a key to victory, always a key always a key, a key to escape.

"Gammelthorpe, shower tonight?" the guard said as he passed back by my prison.

"Yes of course sir," is my reply, I see this as my chance. This will be my key, my precious key to escape. He lets me out and hands me a towel, shampoo and soap and we being our walk. I see others who long for escape, who long for a key of their own, boys who were victims, like me, victims of the cruel and oppressive system. Sent to this hellish prison they call "The Juvenile Hall" the place where dreams die and hopes are crushed into little tiny pieces.

Why was I sent here? A little mix up is all. I tried to tell them I was only doing what any human being would do for his fellow inhabitants of this Earth. Animals in cages for people to point at and laugh, much like this place I'm in now. I was their liberation, their key. Blood… blood and fire…. brimstone… fire fire, fire from the tongues of liars. People got in the way, what did they expect a charging rhino to do, change course? Or the scared lion who wants only desperately to return to his home, lashing out at those he finds to be unfamiliar. I was blamed, I was in the wrong, I was charged, I pled innocent, I was framed, and I was convicted. Six weeks in this place was my sentence, four weeks, three days, ten hours, thirty minutes and twenty seconds had passed so far.

The showers, no one here, the guard shows me in and closes the door behind me. I'm no fool. If there is one thing Curly Gammelthorpe isn't, it's a fool. I know he's there, right outside the door waiting for me to claim I'm finished. No one here, I could use a shower, cleanliness is important for an escape.

I strip down, folding my clothes neatly and placing them on the bench out away from the shower. I see my naked form in the mirrors, clearly malnourished from my time spent here. They may say it's only my imagination, but just by looking I can tell I am now 8.34 ounces lighter than I should be. I move towards the mirror, and examine myself closer. Five foot six, black bowl cut hairstyle, red rimmed glasses… I still look like me at least, the time in the dark, the cold, the comfort…. No… what comfort...? shut up Curly…

I move towards the shower and turn on the water, hot all the way, cold all the way. Perfect mixture of water with the perfect force, I adjust the shower head and begin. Wash all essentials: hair, underarms, face, and groin. Continue on to arms, legs, and feet. Turn of water, grab towel, and begin drying.

Once I am finished drying I see myself in the mirror again, clean and refreshed and nude. I notice something odd, for me at least, which may of course mean it is "normal" for others. An erection, something minor, something trivial, and something to be dealt with at a later time when hormonal imbalances weren't being monitored. I dress, the offending body part subsides back to its normal resting state, and I go to the door.

"Finished," I say as I knock. The fat oaf opens the door and begins leading me back towards my cell. Key… a key… a key… my brain twitches as I think of what my key will be. The cell key's rest against the guard's waist too close for me to grab without being noticed. Time is almost up, what can I do. Something… I have to do something.

I trip on my towel, falling face first onto the floor. The guard, his face full of fake concern turns and begins to help me up, my chance. I grab not the key that belongs to my cell door, but the universal key, and skillfully loop it off the key ring in the blink of an eye. I know it well after staring at it for so many hours. It goes into my pocket quick as a flash as I am now fully upright thanks to my friend the guard… no… no…. the fat oaf… Shut Up Curly!

He closes me into my cell, the door locks into place automatically. The guard leaves, the lights go out, the keys are hung in the office without a count. I have twenty minutes until the night guard arrives, but I do not have to worry, I have my key…

"HAAAAHAAAhahahahahahaHAAAAAA AAAA"

**So yeah imagine all of this in third person, and that's what I translated into this. So tell me, how do you readers feel about first person for the "Misadventures"? Let me know in your reviews! Also please please please Read Rate Review and Recommend to your friends! I enjoy this but I want as many readers as I can get ^_^ So thanks ya'll and we'll continue with Arnold, Helga, Phoebe and Gerald next time! **


	5. Chapter 5

**So now we return to the main story where we left off with Helga sharing Arnold's room for the night. Now we turn to our other two main characters, Gerald and Phoebe of course. This chapter will start right after Arnold and Gerald's phone call in Chapter 3. What could possibly happen to them over the course of a day? Let's find out shall we ^_^**

Chapter 5

Anata

Gerald closed his cell phone and returned it to his pocket. He really wished he hadn't had to go with his parents, but his loyalty to his brother wouldn't allow him to skip out.

"Was that Arnold and Helga," Phoebe asked?

"Yeah," Gerald replied, "they were looking for us, said they got a whole day of fun planned out."

"Oh my, it's a shame we have to miss it," Phoebe said.

"True that, but at least I've got you here with me," Gerald said with a wink.

"Oh Gerald," Phoebe replied with a blush as they exchanged a quick kiss.

They were in a café on the campus of Temple University in Philadelphia, sipping on their own personal favorite coffee drinks. Gerald had a caramel macchiato and Phoebe had an iced Mocha. They were awaiting the return of Gerald's mother and father who had left with his little sister Timberly to find his older brother Jamie-O. Jamie-O was going to be accepting an award for his engineering project he had done that semester.

"Man, my parents sure have been gone a long time," Gerald said, "I wonder why they're takin' so long?"

They sat in silence for a bit longer, drinking their coffees. Gerald loved spending time with his girlfriend, he truly knew what people meant by "opposites attract". Where he was tall and athletic, she was small and thin; of course Gerald knew that her karate and fencing lessons made her a person not to mess with. He was also nowhere near her level of intellect but had street smarts that she lacked. They shared many things in common however; funk and pop music, long walks, a love of the outdoors, and the most special of all in Gerald's eyes… basketball.

Phoebe loved watching basketball, college basketball mostly, but whenever Gerald was playing it was like he was the only player in the whole world.

"Gerald," Phoebe said.

"Yeah babe," Gerald replied.

"Since it looks as if your parents may take longer than previously estimated, would you like to go for a walk, just until they get back of course."

"Sure, let's just go around campus once," he agreed. They threw away their empty coffee cups and walked off hand in hand, Gerald leaving a not written on a napkin telling his parents that they would be back soon.

As they walked along hand in hand both of their minds began to wander, Gerald thinking about what Monday would bring and Phoebe thinking about Gerald

She wondered how she could have ever gotten so lucky as to be the girlfriend of such an amazing person. As classmates at P.S. 118 she had always admired him, and they had gone on a few little dates together, but that was before they knew how much they really cared about each other. In the jungles of San Lorenzo when her life was in jeopardy, he had been there to save her and when things looked bleak and they didn't know if they would survive the night, they had realized that they were meant for each other. No sappy kisses or proclamations of love, they had held each other and that was all they needed. At the time that Arnold and Helga were forced apart, Phoebe and Gerald were getting together.

"I love you Gerald," Phoebe said.

"I love you to Phoebe," Gerald said with a smile.

As they walked along, they suddenly found themselves near the outdoor courts, where a group of college age kids were playing a game of basketball. They walked up to the fence to watch when Gerald realized something was wrong. Rather than two college age teams, one team were apparently a group from a local high-school, and it looked as though the two groups were arguing.

"Come on man, we were here first and there's a shit-ton of other courts out here and give us our ball back!" the leader of the younger group was saying.

"What you don't seem to realize you little punk is that this is our college so we have the rights whatever court we want and any ball bouncing on our court must be our ball, right guys?" said the tallest of the college aged kids.

"Yeah," all his friends responded stupidly.

The arguing went on for a few minutes until Gerald realized that he should do something before the fight came to punches. He and Phoebe walked in through the gate and over to the feuding groups.

"Hey hey hey, why don't ya'll cool it and tell me what's going on," Gerald said in his best cool/tough voice.

"Like it's any of your business get lost Mr. 33," said the tall college boy. Gerald was doing his best to remain calm, he hated bullies and jerks in general, and this guy was the epitome of a jerk.

"Hey man there ain't no need to be like that, I just want to know what's causing this fight," Gerald said.

"They came in, took our ball and started trying to kick us off the court," said the younger group's leader.

"Well the first thing you need to learn is to pick your battles my friend," Gerald said to him, "ya'll can't possibly think you can beat these guys in a fight.'

"Maybe not, but we'd give a good account of ourselves," the boy said.

"That may be true, but ya gotta play to your real strengths. Lemme show ya." Gerald spun around and grabbed the ball from the older boy and started dribbling like a pro. "I'll bet you guys that I can make a shot from anywhere you pick. If I win, you give these guys back their ball and go to another court; if I miss I'll get out of here."

"You're on punk," the older guy said. "Make a shot from outside the fence on the other side of the court."

"You're on… Bubba," Gerald said with a smirk as he made his way to the mentioned spot. Phoebe followed him, knowing that Gerald wouldn't have agreed to something like this unless he was completely sure of himself.

"Can I get a kiss for luck babe?" he asked Phoebe as he got ready to shoot.

"Statistically speaking… you know what never mind," Phoebe replied as she kissed him on his cheek.

"Hey are you gonna shoot the ball or make out," the guy called out.

Gerald stared at the hoop took a deep breath, and shot. The ball flew through the air and hit the rim; it bounced up in the air and came back down right through the hoop in a perfect swish. The college boys watched it happen and their jaws dropped in unison as the shot was made. The high schoolers cheered and ran to give Gerald their congratulation.

"Thanks dude! You really saved our asses," the leader said.

"You'd like to think that wouldn't you," said a voice from behind them. It was the college guy and his cronies; they were walking up looking very pissed off.

"Come on man you made a deal," Gerald said, getting angry fast.

"Yeah but you don't seem to get the fact that we are also bigger than you, and we don't give a shit if you made one lucky shot. We are gonna keep that ball and kick all ya'll out of here, and if you don't leave you will regret it."

"Don't be an asshole man," Gerald said.

Quick as a flash, the college guy had picked Gerald up by his neck and prepared to throw him as hard as he could. Before anything could happen though, Gerald was on his feet again and the college boy had hunched over gasping for breath.

"Thanks babe," he said smiling at his petite girlfriend who had just karate punched the guy in his stomach.

"No problem _anata_," Phoebe replied, composing herself again.

Gerald looked at his attacker and with contempt in his eyes, "You guys ain't nothing but a bunch of bullies, now get out of here before I let my girl here kick the shit out of ya."

The followers all ran off letting their leader lag behind, clutching at his stomach. Gerald picked Phoebe up and gave her a big hug.

"Wait until the guys back in Hillwood hear that my girl, a freshman, nearly knocked out a college basketball player," he laughed.

"It was only because you were in danger," Phoebe said sheepishly, "I normally would never use my martial arts on a living being, it is supposed to be used to focus the mind."

"Hey babe I'm not complaining, you saved my ass and I can't thank you enough."

The two said their goodbye's to the high schoolers and made their way back to the café where Gerald's parents and siblings were waiting.

After relating the story of what had happened and Phoebe's rescue, they all shared a laugh and made their way to Jamie-O's certificate acceptance.

Later that night at the hotel, Gerald and Phoebe said goodnight, and went to their separate rooms, longing to hold each other. They both had the same thought, "We are made for each other"

_(anata _is a Japanese term of endearment for boyfriends/husbands that roughly means "darling")

***PHEW* worked this out in like 2 hours for you guys, (that's total time not including a Skyrim break and a trip to get some chips to munch on :3) I wanted to explore Phoebe and Gerald's relationship but at the same time add in an element of suspense and adventure! So yeah Phoebe is a badass and can probably break bricks with those lightning fast hands. Probably a good thing she didn't have a sharp object she could have used like a fencing sword . So I don't know what I'll do next chapter, I'll probably return to Arnold and Helga waking up on Sunday.**

**SPECIAL SHOUT OUT'S:**

***HoshiAM for being probably most avid reader and advice giver **

***Jopeth23 for being a new reader**

***Nep2uune for constantly returning**

**Thanks for everything people, also I may be announcing an ambitious project with my next chapter so be prepared ^_^ **

**Please RR&R, that's Read Review and Recommend to your friends, I know you at least have a few.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay so last chapter was a lot of fluff, and I loved it ^_^ hahah. Phoebe and Gerald are my favorite pairing besides Rhonda and Harold hahah. I'm going to try and step it back a little this chapter though. Also I apologize for the wait, the end of this quarter at college was busy busy busy for me. I couldn't find ANY time to work on this. ALSO! Stick around until the bottom where there will be cake!**

Chapter 6

A Friend in Need Part 1: Boy Howdy

*Hey Arnold, hey Arnold, hey Arnold, hey Arnold, hey Arnold*

Helga was awakened by the sound of the little alarm clock next to the bed which she quickly unplugged. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, confused as to where she was at but she quickly remembered. She looked over at the fold-out couch where she had expected to wake up and saw Arnold asleep there in his boxers, sprawled out with the blanket having fell off of him in the night. Helga saw her shirt and pants neatly folded on the little chair at his desk. She smiled at how he had taken care of her, and even given her his bed for the night. Helga then realized that her top half was only covered by her bra.

"Does that mean Arnold saw…" Helga whispered to herself. There was nothing wrong with it if he had because he was her boyfriend but at the same time she wondered what he might have thought of her, and how she looked. She quickly pushed the thoughts out of her mind and hopped out of the bed, tiptoeing across to her clothes where she put on her shirt and switched the shorts Arnold had given her for her own blue jeans. After a quick check to make sure she hadn't woken up Arnold, she exited the attic room and walked down the hall to the bathroom.

Arnold woke up moments after Helga had left. He got up and stretched looking around the room for her when he saw that the universal remote for his room had been under him while he slept.

"Good thing I didn't press any buttons during the night," Arnold said as he reached out for it. As he grabbed the device he felt a button depress and before he could even think the couch had flipped back, carrying him with it into the wall. He crashed into the old wood and it buckled easily sending him through the ceiling of the second floor bathroom and leaving him sprawled out winded on the floor.

Helga had just closed the bathroom door when she heard the resounding crash from inside. She quickly opened it and saw Arnold's prone form.

"Arnold? Are you okay?" she yelled as she ran to him.

"Yeah I think I'm okay, stupid couch," he said as she helped him up. They both looked up at the sizable hole that he had fallen through.

"It looks like Grampa and I have a project to take care of" Arnold said sheepishly.

Helga just laughed and gave her boyfriend a kiss, "I'm just glad you're okay Football Head." They both laughed as they left the bathroom and went downstairs.

A few hours later, the two were out walking around the neighborhood. It was a pleasant day with the sun shining nice and bright and no clouds to ruin the view. As they were coming around a corner they noticed a group of their classmates all gathered outside the home of Stinky Peterson. Not much had changed about the little house where Stinky lived with his father. The only noticeable difference was the little one car garage they had built next to the house to store tools and his father's truck.

Today the truck was parked out of the garage and the door was wide open. Inside Helga and Arnold could hear someone singing and decided to go check it out. They made their way through the group of kids and stopped next to Harold and Sid. There sat Stinky in the middle of his garage, playing a guitar quickly and skillfully and singing into a microphone.

"Work boots, one blue suit, size too small I won't wear it at all. Unless somebody's kids get hitched well that a bitch cause it makes me itch. Up with the sun, off on the run, makin money money cause I wanna have fun…" sang Stinky. Arnold didn't know much about country music, but he did know that Stinky was doing a great job.

Stinky finished the song with a final strum of his guitar and said, "That there was a song by Trace Adkins called 'Rough n Ready'. I reckon it's one of my favorite songs to play." Everybody clapped and Stinky began to set up for his next song.

"How's it going guys?" Arnold asked Harold and Sid.

"Oh hey Arnold," said Harold, "It's going good man, just showing our support for Stinky."

"Yeah, but boy howdy that country crap can get annoying after a while," said Sid sullenly. Stinky sat back down and began to pluck at the strings of a banjo this time.

"This here's a song I wrote myself a couple days ago," he said and began to play even faster than last time. There didn't appear to be any words to this song, just a really long banjo solo.

"Agh! I gotta get out of here," said Sid. "If there is one thing I hate the most it's the fucking banjo."

"Shut up Sid, we gotta show our friend we support him," said Harold

"No way dude, I'm gone," and just like that, Sid walked away.

"What's up with Sid?" Arnold asked Harold with a puzzled look on his face. He was still getting used to the new, tough, in-your-face Sid.

"Man I dunno, he's been acting weird all week, and whenever I try to talk to him about it he just walks away," said Harold sullenly. Then his eyes lit up, "Wait a minute, Arnold you were always the best with helping people out, could you maybe go talk to him?"

Arnold considered this question. While it was true that he had often helped his friends with their problems in grade school, he worried that he might have lost some of his abilities.

"Oh come on Football Head," Helga said impatiently, "go find Sid and give him one of your therapeutic talks. I'll stick around here and watch Stinky for a bit, damn that skinny guy can play."

Not wanting to disobey Helga, Arnold excused himself and went off in the direction that Sid had. It didn't take him long to catch up as Sid was walking very slowly with his head down.

"Hey Sid, how's it going?"

"Oh, hey Arnold," Sid sighed, "I've been better."

"What's wrong?" Arnold asked.

"It's nothing Arnold, don't worry about it. I can handle my own problems."

"Okay Sid, you can handle your own problems." It was a method Arnold had always used, pretend to be disinterested and eventually they will just spill the beans. Sure enough, it was working

"Well, I mean, I don't know. It's just not something I think people need to worry about."

"Okay Sid, I understand."

"But I mean if you wanted to maybe help me out a bit..."

"Sure Sid, whatever you need," Arnold said, glad he was finally getting somewhere.

"Well it's just, my dad got arrested again and this time it doesn't look like he's getting out."

"What?" Arnold said a bit surprised. He remembered Mr. Gifaldi from when he was a kid; he was one of the nicest, most soft spoken men in town.

"Yeah, he's been selling drugs to keep money coming in since he got laid off. This was his last strike though, they're putting him away. I know I can take care of myself and all but, I mean it's my dad. And now the guys he was selling for are looking for me because they want their cut of the pay, and I don't know where any of the drug money is and…." Sid's speech was getting quicker and more nervous, just like in his younger days and he was starting to hyperventilate.

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down Sid and just take a breath." Arnold said quickly, sitting his friend down on the nearest stoop. "You just need to think a bit now, have you told the cops about this?

"The cops? Come on Arnold I can take on anyone who comes at me. I beat the shit outta Wolfgang and his posse and they all had knives and chains. I'm sure drug dealers wouldn't be much of a problem.

"No Sid, they will try to kill you to get the money you need to understand that. They will have guns and a really pissed off attit…"

"I KNOW. God dammit Arnold I know. I've been putting on a tough front, and I really worked on my nervousness and I even started working out to be in shape for anyone who tried to fuck with me, but now… I'm actually scared Arnold. I don't want to die." Sid sobbed into his hands.

Arnold was starting to feel a bit panicked. Drug lords after Sid to get the debt that his father owed? This wasn't just some average problem.

"Sid, come on, we're going to go back to Stinky's and you are going to stay there. If they dealt with your dad I'm sure they know where you live." The two boys walked back around the corner and towards the small house where Stinky lived. The only people left were Harold, Stinky and Helga.

Arnold explained the situation and allowed Harold and Stinky to take charge of their friend. He and Helga then started walking home.

"Wow, poor Sid," Helga said sympathetically.

"Tell me about it," Arnold replied, "I don't want anything bad to happen to the guy; he's always been a good friend."

Arnold dropped Helga off at her house with a kiss and a hug and then made his way back to the boarding house. He wondered how this would play out in the end. Drug lords in Hillwood; that could only mean trouble.

**So yeah here it is, after a long wait, the first part of my first story arc. I expect at least four more chapters continuing with this adventure/drama/whatever before it is fully resolved. Again I've been busy with finals and such but now I finally have free time again so look forward to more updates. Keep in mind who y'all want for the next "Misadventures". Next update will feature the return of Phoebe and Gerald plus more on Sid's troubles.**

**Shout outs to all my readers, (hopefully I still have some XD) Please review and such so I can hear your thoughts and input. **

**P.S. The cake was a lie**


	7. Chapter 7

**Our last chapter began the A Friend In Need arc in which we have found that Sid is in a bad way, and he desperately needs some help from his friends. Drug lords in Hillwood? Sid's dad in jail? Sid's life in danger for his father's mistakes? How will this all play out! Well you'll find out as soon as I stop my senseless rambling. Moohahahaha I feel so evil. Anyway, let's get on with it!**

A Friend in Need Part 2: He Knows

"Gerald, wake up anata, we are back in Hillwood."

Gerald woke up at the sound of Phoebe's voice; he sat up and looked out the window of the train they were on. It was quite late, almost midnight, and Gerald knew he was going to have a sleepy day at school the next day.

"Thanks for the wakeup call babe," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. As they got off the train, Gerald told his parents that he would meet them at home after he had walked Phoebe to her house. They held hands as they walked down the lamp lit streets, neither one scared because they were together. They were almost at Phoebe's street when they heard a voice behind them.

"You G. Johanssen?" the voice asked.

Gerald and Phoebe turned to see a tall man in a pinstriped suit staring down at them through a pair of very expensive looking glasses. He had a very weasel like face and greasy slicked back hair.

"Maybe, who wants to know?" Gerald asked cautiously

"My boss asked me to bring you a letter," the man replied calmly. He handed Gerald a letter with only a name on the envelope. "F. Slippers"

"Oh man, it's from Fuzzy Slippers! What's he up… to?" Gerald looked around but the man was gone, only the faint smell of his hair grease was left. Gerald opened the letter and began to read.

_Dear Gerald,_

_ The following is information regarding a friend of yours by the name of Sid Gifaldi. Make sure it is delivered to A. P. Shortman as soon as possible as it will help with current investigations._

_ Sid Gifaldi is being targeted by the drug lord Francesco Vasquez to pay for crimes committed by his father. Vasquez is accepting nothing more or less than Sid's life. He means to break Mr. Gifaldi's spirit so that when he gets out of jail he doesn't even have a son to return to._

_ I have unearthed some information on Vasquez. His base of operations is in a warehouse down by the pier. He also has a taste for expensive clothes and exotic animals. He has a pair of Komodo dragons as his guard dogs. He is known to make unorthodox deals and wagers._

_ My suggestion for Arnold is to take this information to the police. Arnold will be confused as to how I knew of all of this. You know what to tell him. This isn't something high schoolers should have to deal with, make sure the police are told._

_ -F. Slippers_

Gerald read and reread the letter several times, unsure of what exactly he was reading. He handed the letter off to Phoebe so that she could read it.

"This is highly unusual, I knew Sid's father was in trouble but I never would have believed it was to this degree." Phoebe said in a small voice.

"Yeah… come on let's get to the boarding house. We gotta give this to Arnold," said Gerald as he impulsively began to walk down the street.

"Hold on a minute sweetie, it's the middle of the night. We cannot just go marching into the boarding house now, we'll wake everyone up. We'll just give it to him tomorrow morning at school"

Gerald thought about this. He knew that any information from Fuzzy Slippers was bound to be nothing but fact, and that something this serious should be dealt with immediately.

"Nah I gotta take care of this now babe, I'll drop you off and then go take this to Arnold. I'll go up the fire escape and knock on his window so I don't wake anyone up."

He walked Phoebe to her front door and left her with a kiss and a hug. Then he ran off towards the boarding house. It only took him about five minutes to reach the bottom of Arnold's fire escape and start climbing. Once he made it to the window he looked down into Arnold's room. His friend was sitting upright in bed, reading with his headphones on. Gerald knocked on the window as hard as he dared but Arnold apparently couldn't hear him. So he ran around the skylight to the other side in hopes of being able to attract Arnold's sight but by the time he was there Arnold had turned off the light and sank down into his bed, headphones still on.

"Damn it," sighed Gerald, "he just can't make this easy can he?"

Gerald hurried around to the other side where the window was able to be opened and started trying to open it. It took a while but he was finally able to pry it open just enough to get his hand inside, so he hastily opened it.

He dropped down into the room and prodded Arnold's shoulder.

"Arnold, Arnold come on you need to get up man!" Gerald said.

Arnold stirred sleepily and then turned over.

"Arnold, dude come on, get up," Gerald said again as he pulled the headphones off his friends head. Arnold eyes slowly opened, and when he saw Gerald he gave a little start.

"Jesus Christ! Gerald? What the hell are you doing in my room at," he looked at the clock, "one in the morning!?"

"Sorry man it couldn't wait, you gotta read this letter." He handed the letter over to Arnold and went to sit on the couch. Arnold read the letter several times over, his face growing more confused after each time he finished it.

"How did he get all this information, I only decided to start looking for information a few hours ago?" Arnold said.

"I keep telling you man, _Fuzzy Slippers knows_," said Gerald somberly.

The next day at school, Arnold, Gerald and their girlfriends were sitting together at lunch discussing what needed to be done to help Sid.

"It's quite obvious. We should take this information to the police department as quickly as possible. They can do much more with it than us," Phoebe said wisely.

"I don't know babe, Arnold and I don't exactly have the best luck with reporting things to the police in this town," Gerald replied.

Arnold had a fleeting memory of all the times he and Gerald had been laughed out of the police station. "You've got a point, but what can we do with it? The most useful bit is where he tells us that this Vasquez guy's hideout is down on the pier," he said.

"Well I don't know what you lightweights are worried about," said Helga loudly, "it's not like we've never dealt with danger before. Remember all the crap we had to deal with when that jackass tried to build a shopping mall on all our houses. Oh and all of that shit that went on in the rainforest when we were out looking for your parents, and that was when we were in the fourth grade. Face it; we've been through more shit than action heroes."

Arnold knew Helga had a point, but it was hard for him to rationalize facing an armed drug lord head on. As the four of them walked out into the courtyard, he looked over to the far side by the road. He saw Sid, Stinky and Harold playing a game of 21 on the only court with and unbroken basketball hoop. He was just thinking about going to tell Sid all of the information they had been given by Fuzzy Slippers, when he saw it happen. A black van pulled up and three men in suits jumped out.

"Oh shit… Gerald come on!" Arnold yelled as he began to run towards his friends. The three men had grabbed Sid and were dragging him towards the van. Stinky and Harold had been knocked to the ground. By the time Arnold and Gerald had arrived the van was taking off down the road.

"God damn it!" Gerald shouted, "what the fuck do we do now."

"I dunno, but the minute I catch up to those guys… I'm gonna pound em," they heard Harold growl.

"I reckon I'll be right there with ya on accounta they just pissed me off," Stinky said. Completely shocked, they all stared down the road, where their friend had disappeared.

**Chapter 7 ended, next chapter is a misadventures chapter. I think you all will enjoy what I have planned. Sorry about the wait but college is over now so maybe I can get back on a regular update schedule. Please everyone remember to read, review, and most importantly recommend to your friends! ^_^ Have a wonderful day everyone.**


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